H207
Judgment Title: Cunningham -v- Intel Ireland Ltd Neutral Citation: [2013] IEHC 207 High Court Record Number: 2009 851 P Date of Delivery: 15/05/2013 Court: High Court Composition of Court: Judgment by: Hedigan J. Status of Judgment: Approved |
Neutral Citation [2013] IEHC 207 THE HIGH COURT [2009 No. 8510P] BETWEEN MARIE CUNNINGHAM PLAINTIFF AND
INTEL IRELAND LIMITED DEFENDANT Judgment of Mr. Justice Hedigan delivered on 15th day of May, 2013. 1. The defendant has issued this motion seeking to strike out the plaintiff’s personal injury summons dated the 22nd September, 2009 as an abuse of process and/or a duplication of the plaintiff’s equality claim against the defendant and/or for want of prosecution. The defendant relies upon s. 101(2)(a) of the Employment Equality Act 1998 – 2008 and upon the rule in Henderson v. Henderson (1843) 3 Hare 100, both of which are designed to prevent the duplication of proceedings. 2. The plaintiff was employed by the defendant as a senior manager. Having returned to work on the 11th August, 2008 following maternity leave, the plaintiff on the 3rd December, 2008 instituted a claim for discrimination against the defendant in relation to access to employment, promotion/regrading, conditions of employment and harassment. 3. The plaintiff’s equality claim was heard in July and September 2011 but was rejected by the Equality Tribunal in a decision dated the 22nd February, 2012. The plaintiff appealed that decision to the Labour Court and the appeal is ongoing. 4. The plaintiff was a Grade 9 GER Workforce Mobility Manager. She was on a combination of maternity leave and sick leave from late June 2007 to the 11th August, 2008. The plaintiff’s equality complaint as set out in her Form EE1 dated 3rd December, 2008 was that she had been discriminated against on the grounds of gender. The plaintiff’s primary allegation was that the defendant failed to allow her to return to her original job following her maternity leave and/or failed to provide her with a job to match her grade level. 5. In her “brief outline of complaints” attached to Form EE1, the plaintiff claimed that the alleged discrimination significantly affected her “health and wellbeing”. Her personal injury claim herein appears to relate to the same alleged damage to the plaintiff’s “health and wellbeing”. 6. The defendant claims that the same events caused the alleged personal injury claimed in the personal injury summons herein and objects to being required to meet the same claim in High Court proceedings and in the statutory proceedings. They claim that according to submissions filed in her claim to the Employment Equality Tribunal, the plaintiff alleged that she was discriminated against on grounds of her gender on the following basis:
(b) the retention of her leave replacement in her position after her return from maternity leave; (c) the failure of Intel to keep her informed of all changes within Intel during her maternity leave; (d) the failure or refusal to deal with her complaints after her return; (e) the failure of Intel to conform to the provisions of its own maternity leave policy. 7. Decision Section 101 of the Employment Equality Act 1998 – 2008 at (2)(a) provides;
(a) shall not be entitled to recover damages at common law in respect of the case, and . . ..”
9. When the particulars of bullying, harassment and psychological abuse set out in her personal injury summons are examined at paragraphs 7 – 15, it is clear that the claims set out there start with the announcement of her pregnancy and concerns the same conduct described in Form EE1 and submissions supporting the same. In the particulars of negligence at u, v and w, the claim in this personal injury summons goes on to deal with her post-return to work period, i.e. August 2008. 10. Thus, it is clear from her own pleadings and submissions in the two sets of proceedings that both her employment claim and her personal injury claim arise out of the same matters, i.e. alleged mistreatment in her working environment. This she alleges commenced on the announcement of her pregnancy, continued through her commencement of maternity leave, through that leave and culminated in her disatisfaction with the way she was treated on her return to work. The plaintiff in issuing these personal injury proceedings after her employment equality complaints, in my view, drew an artificial distinction which does not stand up to analysis. 11. In terms of the reliefs sought, the claim in the personal injury proceedings is for compensation for the stress and the health problems arising therefrom. It is clear that such a remedy may be awarded by the Labour Court in the employment equality proceedings. See Ntoko v. City Bank [2004] ELR 116. In doing this, the Labour Court may chose to consider a complainant’s medical reports in assessing the compensation to be awarded. See McGinn v. Daughters of Charity EDA9/2003. 12. Thus the plaintiff is not precluded from recovering compensation in the Labour Court in respect of the personal injury she alleges she has suffered. Moreover, the defendant herein has stated unequivocally in open court in this application that they will not oppose the plaintiff bringing into her claim before the Labour Court her complaints dating from her announcement of her pregnancy. 13. When she chose to create this artificial distinction in the one essential complaint to pre and post-August 2008 by issuing these personal injury proceedings, the plaintiff, in my view, breached the provisions of s. 101(2)(a) of the Employment Equality Act 1998 – 2008 and breached the rule in Henderson v. Henderson. By confining her complaints in one set of proceedings these statutory and common law requirements do not in any way limit the plaintiff’s right to a remedy for those complaints. The Labour Court had and still has at its disposal ample jurisdiction to do so. In particular, as a lay litigant, the plaintiff is far better off having all of her complaints dealt with in the one set of proceedings. Thus the application of the defendant to dismiss these proceedings must be allowed. 14. I would note finally that the practice here readily admitted of issuing proceedings and then leaving them lie for years until other proceedings are concluded is inconsistent with contemporary jurisprudence concerning the obligation of the courts to ensure the expeditious conduct of proceedings.
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